Let the Sunshine In!

(I watched the movie The 40 Year Old Virgin on Saturday, so this song has been stuck in my head . . .)

I took this week off from work, trying to decompress after my final exam. It turns out I ended up with an A- in the class, which I consider a miracle. I was not unhappy with the way the final went, which is always a good sign, and I think I figured out what the professor wanted for the final paper. For my previous paper, I gave too much background and explanation for his taste, which upon further thought made sense, but at the time greatly upset me because I tend to be a very bare bones kind of writer. I’m used to writing and thinking in Economics terms and not in Psychology terms – and they are definitely two different ways of thinking. Which is rather funny, because the whole field of Behavioral Economics is reinventing the wheel in terms of studying how people act and react to specific situations, while Social Psychology already has studied a lot of these same topics? I guess the Econ people don’t want anything to do with the Psych people, which makes *no* sense at all to me . . .

Anyway, this was my week off. The goal was to give my brain a rest. Of course, it has poured down rain the entire week, except for today. We had a leak in our bathroom ceiling, so we had to be home for the roofers to investigate. I checked my work e-mail each morning, just to make sure nothing funky happened that might have fallen under my purview. We had trouble with our car, which was another irritant. I could not wind down properly until . . . well, today. I feel like the whole week was just a warm up to an actual vacation, but one that won’t happen. I’m rested enough to get some rest, if you know what I mean. I have stacks of books to read, but have had no sense of concentration until now.

I go back to work on Monday and dread it terribly. So much to do: much of it I’ve done before. Things happen in cycles and sometimes dealing with the same cycles over and over again gets tiring.

I hope to get new running shoes soon so I can get back into running. I feel like I’ve gained 10 pounds over the course of the winter. My clothes still fit, but I definitely could look better in them. Besides, I need to work off some of this stress that’s been building and I also need to stop making myself feel better with bags of chip-like substances.

Summer is a time to think positively. I probably won’t be able to go on vacation, but hopefully there will be a few day trips in the future. My Army sister is now firmly settled in the Boston area and I look forward to visiting her at some point. (LOVE Boston!)

I haven’t been to any plays lately and I’m getting antsy. There are a couple of contemporary playwrights being showcased this summer, so maybe I can see one of those. The Fringe Festival is coming up in July and that is usually the highlight of my year. I need to start making plans for the Fall and determine what my next steps are.

So much going on! So little time!

To end, I should probably share a little bit of what I’ve been reading lately. I’ve been horrible at keeping up with everyone’s blogs, but I have attempting to read blogs and websites that relate to my studies in some way, to keep up on what’s going on in the world and in my chosen field.

Baseline Scenario (http://baselinescenario.com/) – If you want to follow the financial crisis, this is the one blog you should be reading. Simon Johnson has been *everywhere* - even on The Daily Show – and he is one of the most straightforward, knowledgeable and personable economic communicators I’ve ever seen. My dream is to do what he does, albeit on a smaller scale. I’m totally a groupie for him!

Understanding Society (http://understandingsociety.blogspot.com/) – This is an amazing blog on the social sciences, and I must admit I don’t keep up with it as much as I should because each post has leaves one with so much to think about . . . it’s not something you can scan quickly. Very worth the time.

The Fluent Self (http://www.fluentself.com/blog/) – I love this blog. It makes me realize that I need to be gentler to myself, and what that actually means day-to-day. It is helping me work through a lot of my “stuck” issues, although I have a long way to go.

That’s me for today. I am cheerfully waving to you all!